Mary, Did You Know
by jojospn
Summary: SPOILERS for seasons 1-5, namely "Pilot" and "Swan Song". In remembrance of Mary Winchester on November 2.


**Mary, Did You Know?**

 _Mary, did you know that one moment in November would curse your sons?_

Mary Campbell sat there in the darkness, her boyfriend's lifeless body cradled in her arms, as the demon wearing her father smiled maliciously.

"You killed him," she spat , horrified, as the thing wearing Samuel Campbell kicks John Winchester in the legs. "Oh, not just John, sweetie-pie. Mommy and Daddy, too." The demon unzipped Samuel's jacket, revealing the wound in his stomach, and Mary gasps in horror. "No..."

And despite every instinct telling her otherwise, Mary listened as the demon with the pale, yellow eyes promised to bring John back, live a life without hunting, raising the family she had always wanted. Despite the bile from beneath her throat, she kissed the demon, knowing in her heart that she was making a huge mistake, but not caring, so long as John was alive. She held him close, crying softly as the cloud of black smoke billowed above and her father's body collapsed to the ground like a rag doll. And as she did so, burrying her tear stained face in John's chest, taking comfort in the scent of his cologne and the beating of a heart which had been oh so still only minutes earlier, Mary Campbell thought not of the chain reaction she had just set, of the pain and grief she would bestow upon her family.

 _Mary, did you know that angels really were watching over him?_

A light dusting of snow was falling as Mary rocked her newborn son in her arms. The child was still fussing slightly, and the young mother smiled, gently singing "Hey Jude". She remembered how her own mother had rarely sang traditional lulablies to her, instead opting for her own favorite song: "Answer Me, My Love" by Nat King Cole. Her mother would never be able to see her grandchild, cradle her namesake in her arms, but the least Mary could do was carry on the tradition. She felt a tear trickle along her cheek but smiled nonetheless as she continued the song, watching lovingly as her baby's eyes grew heavy with sleep. After a while, Mary carefully sat up, gently kissing the infant on the forehead before laying him gently in his crib.

"Goodnight, love," she said softly as little Dean snuggled comfortably. "Angels are watching over you."

Mary Winchester had never thought much of it. It was just a sweet saying , originating from the rather tacky ceramic angel she had picked up at a yard sale a month earlier. But little did she know, from the moment he was born to the day he would eventually die, angels truly were watching over Dean Winchester.

 _Mary, did you know the consequences?_

Mary first felt that something was wrong when the lights began to flicker.

It had been ten years since she had last hunted, the best years of her life. Since the deaths of her parents she had married her beloved John, had lived five years of happiness before Dean's birth, and had enjoyed five more watching him grow. Thoughts of warewolves and shapeshifters were replaced with bicycles, Tonka trucks, and afternoons at the park. And now she had another little one, baby Sammy. It warmed her heart to see the adoration in her firstborn's eyes whenever her two babies played together. Dean was always so careful to keep his baby brother safe, be it from literal falls down the stairs or from the sudden noises which tended to startle little Sam awake. Mary had smiled warmly when Dean had leaned over the crib and gently kissed his baby brother goodnight with a soft "'Night, Sam."

The sounds from the baby moniter had startled her from sleep, and, concerned, she had made her way to the nursery to see a silhouette of her husband standing over the crib. Still rather groggy, Mary had turned to head back to bed; but the gentle flicker of the hallway light had definitely piqued her interest. She tapped the fixture, just to be certain that it really _was_ something wrong with the wiring. Satisfied when the flickering stopped, she turned to return to the bedroom. And stopped short at the top of the stairs.

Within minutes Mary Winchester would remember the deal she had made ten years ago this very night; she would be pinned to the ceiling of Sammy's nursery, gasping in pain from the deep slash in her abdomen, helpless to scream. She would watch in horror as the demon dripped its blood into her baby's mouth, feel the intense heat as she burst into flame...

 _Mary, did you know that young baby would save the world?_

She had been hearing the rumours in heaven, practically from the night she had died. The talk of the Apocalypse, how her youngest son had been the one to trigger it. Mary had been enraged to hear; angry not at the tall young man with the long, dark hair and her husband's hazel eyes. She had witnessed how her baby had been cursed; had selfishly contributed to that curse, despite the fact that she had not intended for any of it to happen. If she hadn't made that deal for John, this would not have happened. But then she would not have had those ten wonderful years together, and those precious six months when the Winchesters were a family.

She had no idea that Sam, her Sammy, would be the one to save the world. She had known all along that there was no evil in the young man; that he had been misguided, manipulatd. And now, watching from her own private heaven, she could feel her heart breaking despite her pride. She could see the look of pain, determination, and love in Dean's eyes as Lucifer beat him nearly to death. She knew it was not Sam who was throwing the punches, but her heart ached for Dean. For even though she knew that Dean had also accepted that the thing attacking him was not his brother, she could feel the suffering he was enduring, as if it were she lying there in that cold cemetery.

And so Mary Winchester watched, as the light once more flickered in Sam's eyes; watched as the pit opened beneath her boy and the jowels of Hell swallowed him. Watched as her firstborn, the same boy she had cradled to sleep and fed PB and Js with the crust cut off, the boy who would do _anything_ to protect his brother, collapse to his knees, grieving the loss of his brother. She longed to be there for him, to hold him close and whisper words of comfort as he cried. And it hurt worse than any physical pain to see Dean suffer. But she knew know, just as she always had, that angels truly were watching over him. She gave the angel Castiel a warm smile and watched as he disappeared before her, ready to comfort her boy. Even in death she would keep her promise.


End file.
